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In simple terms, the The definition of a service is the art to translate a research output or a best-practice solution into a standard workflow in order to elaborate a standard workflow that produce a desired result (impact) output at a fixed price. The The price is determined on the basis of the prices of the local economy. The product of this activity is Services definition produces a so called service template. It is used for the provision of standardized standardised routine services for out-scaling. In the process research desired outputs and best-practice examples are transformed into products, which are negotiable in the real economy. Thus, the result of an investment into dissemination becomes predictable in terms of scope and scale.
Services templates are designed by experts in exchange with involved service providers according to the steps below. Templates are documented on the AfricaRice wiki.
Step 1- Conception
The definition of a new service template usually starts with a brainstorming exercise for gathering ideas. The review of promising research outputs and best-practice examples, is part of this exercise. Simplicity, the Services are usually part of a project that requires different outputs to achieve a desired result / to reach a specific goal. Most outputs of a project can be produced by a corresponding service. It is recommended to list the various services that are required to complete the project and to outline a corresponding budget before starting with the definition of a particular service.Simplicity, evaluation of demand and the estimation of potential benefits are key factors of success.
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Justification / Problem statement: Information that justifies the investment. It describes the problem that the service addresses in the context of the goal of the action / project.
Objective / Purpose: Explaining how the service will contribute to the solution of the problem.
Outputs: List of measurable and tangible products & services that are delivered to the requesterbeneficiary.
Beneficiaries / Expected Outcomes: List of primary and secondary beneficiaries with a corresponding list of expected outcomes.
Requester: Beneficiary: Denomination of the person (this might be an individual or an organisation) entitled to make a request, to whom the service will be delivered and who will evaluate the productbenefit form the service.
Selection criteria: Description of the criteria for the identification of the persons who are entitled to make a requesta beneficiary.
Price: The price of the service
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Services consist of a set of subsequent tasks that are organised in a work-flow towards a specific output. They usually require the involvement of various agents with complementary professional and social skills. Each task includes one or several activities that are carried out by a single agent without having to interact with another agent. It is recommended to start from the end and to think of the last task first in order to keep a clear focus on the result.
Step 4 - Definition of tasks
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Title: A simple name of the task indicating the actionmain activity.
Activities and instructions: Description of the activities that have to be carried out by a Task Agent in order to complete the task. It comprises the description of the methodology, rules and regulation, which have to be observed.
ResultDeliverable: This is a list of the products that must result from the task in quantitative and qualitative terms.
Source of verification: For each task a source of verification for and the modalities to verify the completion of the task on the internet must be indicated.
Task agent: Specification of the type of person(s) or organizationorganisation(s) that carries out the task. In includes the description of the required professional and social skills.
Expenditures: Detailed quantification of resources that are required on average to carry out the task. The different cost item are classified according in the following categories: transport, stationary, travel, casual labour, small equipment, communication and miscellaneous. For each cost item it will be indicated if the costs are covered by the project or by third parties. Cost items are grouped by those that are paid for by the project and those that are covered by third party contributions (in-kind) (see also 2.7 pricing of services below).
HonorariaHonorarium: The amount that is paid to the Task Agent once he has completed the task.
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Basically a price of a service is determined by adding up all expenditures for goods and services that are required to carry out the various tasks and the honoraria honorarium of the involved Task Agents.
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2. Pricing of a task: The price of a task is equal to the estimated expenditures for the resources that are required to carry out the task plus the honorarium of the involved Task Agent.
It starts with the estimation of the expenditures for resources that are required on average to complete a task by indicating the number of units for each of the required goods and services. The estimated quantities are multiplied with the corresponding prices and added in order to compute the price for expenditures.
Third party contributions: In some cases partners involved in service delivery might make an in kind contribution to assure the completion of a task (e.g. work time, office space). For reasons of transparency and reporting purposes their contribution must be acknowledged and if possible quantified (estimated) in order to avoid hidden costs that might need to be considered during subsequent scaling.
Example:
Cost Group | Cost category | Cost items | Covered by | Unit | Unit cost | Quantity | Effective Cost (project) | Total cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Expenditures | Transport | Local transport | Project | km | 0.15 | 10 | 1,50 | 1,50 |
Stationary | Paper | Project | sheet | 0.02 | 10 | 0,20 | 0,20 | |
Casual labor | Farmer | Project | fee | 3.05 | 1 | 3,05 | 3.05 |
Communication | Phone calls | Project | min | 0.10 | 10 | 1.00 | 1.00 |
Honorarium | Honorarium | Field agent |
day | 15.24 | 0.5 | 7.62 | 7.62 | |
Third party contribution | Honorarium | Supervision by INRAB |
ITRAC | day | 38.11 | 0.25 |
9.53 |
Miscellaneous | Office space |
ITRAC | day | 5.00 | 0.25 |
1.25 | |
Total |
sum
sum
12,37 | 23.15 |
3. Define payment schedule: Since many service providers are poor, three scenarios are distinguished:
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For all tasks quality criteria and control procedures are defined. Quality control criteria and procedures should be straight forward and objective. It includes might include procedures for the payment of a premium to encourage the delivery of high quality services. Quality control criteria and procedures should be straight forward and objective.
Step 9 - Optimisation
Work-flows are optimised in an iterative and participatory process with the aim to improve the effectiveness and cost efficiency.
